April 15 is one of those dates that’s simply synonymous with a particular event, representing Tax Day like Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 do Christmas and New Year’s, respectively. The glaring difference is that we approach this IRS holiday with foreboding – images of audits and unpaid liabilities dancing in our heads rather than sugar-plums.

Such concerns, embedded in our DNA since Revolutionary times, are also well-justified – considering that we collectively fork over $3.1 trillion to Uncle Sam each year and spend 6.1 billion hours making sure our payments are proper.